Ten African heads of state have called on other leaders to increase their funding to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The African leaders made the call, according to an IFAD statement noting that the continent was struggling to address conflict, changing weather patterns, pests, and the socio-economic impacts of Covid-19. Hunger levels on the continent are twice the world average.
The leaders of Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Kenya, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo made the call.
‘We share IFAD’s vision of vibrant rural communities where people live free from poverty and hunger,’ they said.
‘Investing in building the resilience of rural people is now more important than ever in order to secure food supplies, safeguard rural livelihoods, ensure that progress made over the years is not lost and prevent more rural people from falling into poverty and hunger’.
Associate Vice President for External Relations and Governance at IFAD, Marie Haga, said, ‘This support from the African heads of state is a testimony to the real impact IFAD is having on the lives and livelihoods of rural people in these countries.
‘Their support demonstrates the importance of investing in rural areas to achieve national food security, environmental sustainability, and economic development which has a monumental impact on global stability and resilience’.
They highlighted the potential of African agriculture and the strong evidence that investing in agriculture was one of the most effective ways of reducing poverty.
Source: ENA
Photo source: Henrik Berger Jørgensen
